Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Road between Grand Teton and Yellowstone Reopens

Cooler temperatures and precipitation quieted fire activity on the Berry Fire, allowing fire managers to reopen the road between Grand Teton and Yellowstone at 1:30 p.m. Winds pushed the fire across US Highway 89/191/287 on September 11 both to the south and the north of Headwaters Lodge at Flagg Ranch, prompting the closure of the highway.

The highway is now open between Leeks Marina in Grand Teton National Park and Grant Village in Yellowstone National Park. Grassy Lake Road in Grand Teton National Park remains closed. The fire made a six-mile run and impacted two 1 ½ mile stretches of the highway, which required crews to take suppression actions and remove hazard trees for public safety before reopening the road.

An evacuation order remains in effect for Flagg Ranch and Sheffield Campground on the Bridger-Teton National Forest. These areas were under an evacuation advisory since Aug. 30.

Fire crews worked through Sunday night and successfully defended all structures in the fires path. No structures were burned. The Southern and Western Wyoming Type 3 Incident Management Team, Incident Commander Steve Markason, is managing the fire on behalf of Grand Teton National Park.

Since the Berry Fire's discovery on July 25, Grand Teton National Park has managed the fire for ecological benefits. The lightning fire started near Berry and Owl creeks on the west side of Jackson Lake. Fire management objectives include protecting public, park, and forest infrastructure;while monitoring the fire as it fulfills its natural role on the landscape.

Crews last night initiated the structure protection plan that was already in place.

Fire information is available at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4954/ or www.tetonfires.com or by calling 307.739.3566.